Heater



A. J. KLU EVER HEATER Filed Dec. 27. 2 Shoots-Shoot. 1

Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

ANNE J. xnunvna, or LAKEWOOD, onto.

HEATER.

Application filed December 27, 1921. Serial No. 524,900.

To all whom it may concern.'-

Be it known that I, ANNE J. Knunvnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lakewood, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Heaters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to heaters and while capable of other uses, has particular reference to a heater and dryer especially adapted for use in connection with printing presses and the like.

Some of the objects of the present invention are toprovide a heater of this character which shall be capable of drying the printed material as it pames through the press and thus greatly expedite the work and permit multicolor work to be carried on as a continuous process in a minimum time; to provide a heater which shall be capable of directing the heat to any predetermined area to be dried, at varying temperatures, and thus effecting uniform drying of the material; to provide a heater which shall include means for circulating an air draft over the heating coils and utilize suchair draft for cooling the heating element and also for conducting the heat to the material to be dried; to provide a heater which shall be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which shall be eificient in operation and easily controlled; while further objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds. In the accompanying drawings wherein I have shown an illustrativev embodiment of m invention, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a eater constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through a portion of the device; and Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken respectively 0n the lines H and 55 of Fig.I 3. j I constructing a heater and dryer in adcordance with my invention, I provide a sheet metal housing consisting of side walls 1, endwalls 2' and a bottom 3. The side walls 1 are deflected outwardly adjacent their upper edges to form flanges 4 and a screen 5 is applied to the open top of the casing by bending the side edges of said screen about the flanges4 as clearly shown in Fig. 5. l

A plurality of heating coil supports 6 are arranged transversely of the heater along the entire length thereof. These supports are formed from any suitable insulating material capable of'resisting heat and are preferably supported between oppositely disposed sheet metal channels 7 7 each of which is provided with flanges 8, 8 which are secured to the side walls of the housing in any. suitable manneras by screws indicated at 10. A partition plate 12 is secured between the side walls of the housing directly below the heating coil supports 6 and this plate is provided with a plurality of groups.

of transverse inlet openings 13. Directly above, and resting on this plate are a plurality of damper plates 14, each'provided with a plurality of transverse openings 15 adapted to align with the respective groups of inlet openings 13 over which each plate is positioned. Each damper plate is provided .with a projection 16 on each side thereof which project through slots 17 formed in the side walls 1. By shifting these damper plates longitudinally of the heater, various roops of apertures 15' and 13 may be brought into alignment as will be described more fully hereinafter.

The bottom 3 of the housing is also formed with a plurality of transverse openings 20 and a plate 21 having a plurality of openings 22 (as shown in Fig. 3 and also in dotted lines in Fig. 4) is slidably secured thereto so that by moving said plate longitudinally, the apertures 20 and 22 may be moved into and out of alignment as will be ex lained hereinafter.- .A handle 23 is provi ed at one end of the plate 21 to facilitate longitudinal movement thereof.

The bottom 3 and partition plate 12 extend rearwardly beyond the housing proper, to define an air duct 25 which is connected with a motordriven fan indicated at 26. This fan is adapted to deliver an air draft through the registering apertures 13 and 15, over a heating coil 26 and thence up through the screen 4 into contact with the material 27 to be dried. By shifting damper plates 14 to bring various groups of apertures 13 and 15 into alignment in various degrees, it will be obvious that the heated air draft can be directed to the material so that drying thereof may be accomplished in the most efiicient manner. That is, where certain areas of the material to be dried require more heat than other areas, the dampers may be ad justed so that the greater portion of the heated air draft is directed to the desired area while only a small volume of the heating draft is directed to the other portion of the material. This not only efiects quick drying but also prevents the possibility of scorching or burning the material.

If a smaller volume of heated air is desired, the motor driven fan is not used, but instead, the plate 21 is moved longitudinally of the bottom of the housing so as to bring apertures 20 and 22 into various degrees of alignment and thus permit a natural circulation of air through said apertures and up through the damper plates into contact with the heating coils and thence to the material to be dried.

For purposes of further regulating the heat applied to the material, I have shown the heating coil 26 provided with a tap 3O substantially midway of said coil so that either half only, may be heated if desired. I also provide a rheostat switch 31 in the current feed wires 32 so that the amount of current supplied to the heater can be controlled and the heat regulated in this manner From the foregoing it will be obvious that I have provided a heater which may be regulated to suit the particular needs of the material to be dried and which shall have a circulation of air over the heating coil at all times; thus rolonging the life of the heating coil and e ecting the drying of the material by conduction rather than by radiation. While I have shown and .de scribed a heater anddryer suited for printing presses, it will be obvious that it may be used for other purposes equally well.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 1s: v

1. A device of the character set forth comprising a substantially rectangular casing having one side thereof open and constituting a discharge opening, an air duct connected with said casing a fan operatively connected with said duct and adapted to create an air draft therethrough, 'a heating unit disposed within said casing intermediate said air duct and said discharge opening, a plurality of dampers arranged intermediate said heating unlt and said air duct, and a damper for opening said air duct to the atmosphere.

2. A drier comprising a box having a heater therein and an inlet opening, a damper controlling said inlet opening, and a supply conduit leading to said inlet opening, said conduit being provided with means to create a forced draft therethrough and also with a damper to permit a natural draft therein. i

3.,A drier comprising a casing having a heater therein and an inlet opening, a supply conduit leading to said inlet opening, means for creating a forced draft through said conduit, and means for permitting a natural draft through said casing.

4. A drier comprising a casing-having one side thereof open and constituting a discharge opening, a supply conduit connected with said casing, a heating unit dis osed within th casing intermediate the disc arge opening and said supply conduit, means for creating a forced draft through said conduit, and means for permitting a natural draft through said casing.

5. A drier comprising a casing having one side thereof open and constituting a discharge openimg, an electric heating unit disposed within the casing, a supp y conduit connected with said casing, means for creatinga forced draft through said conduit, and a damper arranged in the casing to permit a natural draft therethrough. F y

In testimony whereof,'I hereunto afiix my 

